Interesting Trees

In sorting out photos from the last couple of months, I realise that I have quite a few photos of unusual trees that may be of interest to others. So for an easy post ...

2020 seems to have been an exceptional year for blossom, with a non-stop heady rush that was perhaps over a little too soon. One tree I always look out for a few weeks after the Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) flowers, is its double-flowered cultivar 'Plena'. This can be found in plantation woodland around the boundary of Oulton Park (VC63).

Near the above tree, is the double flowered cultivar of Horse Chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum 'Baumanii'). I have been walking under this tree for years and never noticed it, but perhaps work commitments in a normal May mean I have never passed at the right time. I find its stumpy little candles rather unexciting, and that probably explains why its not seen more often. Foolishly I seem to have mislaid my photos, so here is an image from the Deepdales nursery website.

Unusual Sycamores (Acer pseudoplatanus) always catch my eye, and a favourite is f. variegatum 'Simon-Louis Fréres'. There is a fine tree in the churchyard at Swillington (VC64).

This handsome Common Whitebeam, at the edge of plantation in Water Haigh Woodland Park (VC63) is Sorbus aria 'Lutescens'. It remains white well into the summer when the young fruit are markedly pubescent.

In complete contrast this (I think) is Sorbus aria 'Majestica', with very large glossy leaves. It has been planted on the boundaries of Swillington Brickworks (VC64).

At the same location, Purple Filbert (Corylus maxima 'Purpurea') has self-sown from an unknown source. I think I am on safe ground (in the absence of fruit) with the ID given the excellent purple coloration, but most hazels encountered from introductions seem to be hybrid Kentish Cob types. Last year I found some of these with pale muddy purple leaves suggesting 'Purpurea' in the parentage.

The woodlands round the capped landfill at Newsam Green (VC64) include a few trees of Paperbark Birch (Betula papyrifera) amongst the Silver Birch (Betula pendula). These are only just reaching an age where the bark turns white, and the juvenile bark can be confusing.

Finally, to encourage more people to look at hawthorns as they come into fruit later this summer, here is a compare and contrast between the typically (not always, its not definitive) small-flowered Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) and its often large-flowered hybrid with Large-Sepalled Hawthorn (Crataegus rhipidophylla) i.e. Crataegus x subsphaerica. The hybrid is common and spreading locally, and probably elsewhere. Flower size is often a good way to pick out the non-native hybrid and its parent. However, the hybrid usually (but not always, some forms have clearly intermediate foliage) needs to be confirmed later when in fruit. Therefore, the large flowers may be the first indication that there is something potentially interesting to check again later in the year.

Patch Botanising

May is such a beautiful month that it seems criminal to waste a sunny day and not get out to enjoy the vibrancy of spring. So with no specific plans in mind I decided to take one of my usual routes round the village to St Aidan's and back.

There was nothing ground-breaking but it is great to see the grasslands and lake margins at St Aidan's coming into peak growth. Another two to three weeks and it will be a carpet of flowers.

However, it was good to find some of the nominate variety of Crack Willow (Salix x fragilis nothovar. fragilis). Its a great time to be looking for the varieties as trees are in catkin and the leaves are mature enough to avoid potential confusion with White Willow (Salix alba). Nothovar. fragilis seems very under-recorded, no doubt in part because when it is not in catkin it is the most nondescript of the nothovars, making it hard to have confidence in the ID. In the case of the local trees they are male, so can only be this nothovar. The only other similar male form (nothovar. furcata) has forked catkins.

The margins of the lakes and meadows have been sown with a variety of supposedly native species, but prevailing as non-native fodder forms. In peak bloom at the moment is Fodder Salad-burnet (Poterium sanguisorba subsp. balearica). A relatively tall form, with large flower heads longer than wide. I found it a challenge to get a decent photo, being left with just a couple out of 20 plus attempts.

The bicolour flowers of Common Vetch (Vicia sativa subsp. segetalis) were also much in evidence.

Elsewhere the two mature trees of a robust cultivar of Bird Cherry (Prunus padus 'Watereri') - relicts from a former colliery planting - were flowering well. I find it hard to believe this is not of hybrid origin. I am not the first to think this but I can find no evidence that this has ever been tested.  It was once a popular plant for landscaping schemes, but in recent years the wild type has become the prevailing form planted. Not surprising given that the latter is a much more charming tree in comparison with this rather ungainly cultivar. Note the large leaves and long racemes (pencil in the photo is 15cm long).

A surprising plant this far down the Aire valley and out in the open on a ditch bank was a large clump of Greater Wood-rush (Luzula sylvatica). As this site is important flood storage in winter, I can only assume that it arrived with flood water.

On the way back home a garden throw-out by the marina gave me a new patch record, and the first hectad record in the DDB since before 1993. Round-leaved Mint (aka Pineapple Mint) was found under trees in its variegated form (Mentha suaveolens 'Variegata').

Photo by KENPEI (Wikimedia Commons)

Hollinhurst Wood to Swillington Park

I made good use of the extra day this month to walk over to Great Preston (VC64) in the last of the sunshine before the rains return. Hollinhurst Wood turned up a few new species that I had not had previously for the site and/or the hectad. These included naturalised Box-leaved Honeysuckle (Lonicera pileata) and Highclere Holly (Ilex x altaclerensis). The latter is widely naturalised in Yorkshire, and I include a photo below in case it helps others get to grips with this species. It is very variable, merging into the parent species at the extreme ends of variation, but this example is pretty representative. Note the relatively matt mid-green leaves and the relatively large and broad leaf shape, which help distinguish it from our more attractive native Holly (Ilex aquifolium).

There was also a small tree of Cherry Plum (Prunus cerasifera) struggling to grow in the dim light of the woodland.

A small area at the northern end had clearly been the targeted by some misguided soul who felt it necessary to introduce garden plants into native woodland. The plants present included Hybrid Snowdrop (Galanthus x valentinei nothosubsp. valentinei) - of which more later in this post - and some well established clumps of Spring Starflower (Tristagma (Ipheion to the gardeners) uniflorum). The latter was not in flower yet and all that was present was these grassy tufts of garlic scented foliage (see below).

In contrast, the Eastern Sowbread (Cyclamen coum) was not very happy (the soil is a bit wet for this species) and is unlikely to persist.

Finally, my walk back took me past Swillington Park where a hedgebank supported a thriving colony of Hybrid Snowdrop. Again, this seems to be the cultivar 'Magnet', which, given it was first found in 1888, has had nearly 130 years to achieve a wide distribution.

The Well Worn Path

It's always nice when walking a regular route to spot something that you haven't seen before. That really is the beauty of having a local patch and getting to know it inside out. This time it was on my route over to Temple Newsam (VC64), and it was a tree of all things. I must have walked past this species at least four times a year for the last 3 years without seeing it. To be fair to myself, it was Dwarf Cherry (Prunus cerasus) and it was growing with its larger cousin Wild Cherry (Prunus avium), but even so it was only a metre off the path. Perhaps it was something to do with the low autumn sun shining off the glossy leaves that caught my eye this time.

Dwarf and Wild Cherry are quite distinct once known, as the following scan of the leaves should show. Dwarf Cherry (four leaves on the left) has smaller, darker green, glossy leaves with rounded rather than sharp teeth along the edge.

Other nice finds on the same trip included a planted Pin Oak (Quercus palustris), a tree I have wanted to see for a while to understand how it differs from Red Oak (Quercus rubra) - the answer to which is smaller more refined leaves, and naturalised Late Michaelmas Daisy (Aster x versicolor) with it large flowers providing a nectar feast for late flying bees and butterflies.

Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness

Today's Sunday stroll ended up being fruitful in every sense, with plums and haws a plenty.

First up, I found a stand of Damson (Prunus domestica ssp. institia var. damascena) near Little Preston (VC64). There were few fruit left and those were out of camera reach, so here is a picture from Wikimedia.

© Copyright Jonathan Billinger and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Next up was a dense suckering thicket of a small plum next to the allotments at Great Preston. While this plant keyed out to Black Bullace (Prunus domestica ssp. institia var. nigra) (see also below), I'm not entirely happy with the ID, the fruit were only just in the range for this taxon and the look of the plant was wrong with its densely suckering habitat (Bullace suckers, but not usually to this extent) producing a billowing stand more typical of Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). I suspect it may be the hybrid between the two (Prunus x fruticans) but need to ponder further and perhaps revisit in the spring when it is in flower. The fruit were astringent but not to the mouth drying and puckering extent of Blackthorn.

Next up was a magnificent Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna) on the way to Owl Wood, with exceptionally large haws. This is the perfectly named var. splendens. The following photo shows the size of the haws against three typical sized haws from an adjacent bush.

Brian Davis sent me photos of a couple of other plum varieties he found last year in hedges in VC31. These are included below to allow comparison. The first is Black Bullace, while the second is White Bullace (Prunus domestica ssp. institia var. syriaca).